Doctor behind gene-edited babies likely to face charges in China

HONG KONG — A Chinese scientist who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies “seriously violated” state regulations, according to the results of an initial government investigation reported Monday by Chinese state media.

The investigators’ findings indicate that the scientist, He Jiankui, and his collaborators are likely to face criminal charges.

He shocked the world in November when he announced that he had used Crispr, a powerful gene-editing technique, to alter the genes of human embryos. He produced some data but no definitive proof during his presentation at an international conference in Hong Kong.